Three noteworthy mirine plant bugs inhabiting subalpine zones of the Nepalese Himalayas (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae)

ABSTRACT

Three unique mirine plant bugs inhabiting typical subalpine vegetation in the Nepalese Himalayas are documented, with their confirmed plant associations. A new genus and new species, Khumbumiris schwartzi, is diagnosed and described, based on a male specimen collected from Abies spectabilis; two additional new species, Lygocoris laligurans (associated with Rhododendron shrubs) and Phytocoris sagarmathanus (Abies spectabilis), are also described. Images of the habitats and live individuals are also provided. The tribal placement of Khumbumiris is discussed in detail.

http:/zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:54E31614-3262-4BF8-8BBB-F81893AF41D2

KEYWORDS:

• Miridae
• new taxa
• Nepal
• Himalayas
• subalpine zone

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are due to the following individuals and institutions for providing valuable material and supporting our surveys in various ways: Dr K. Shrestha, Assoc. Prof. P.K. Shrestha, Dr B. Kanal and Dr M. Siwakoti (NMTU); Dr M.D. Schwartz (Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario); and Dr M. Tomokuni (Ex-Curator, NSMT). Field-investigations in the Nepalese Himalayas carried out by the first author were supported by staff members of NMTU, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal, and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Nepal Office (particularly, Mr S. Yoshiura, Ex-Resident Representative, and Ex-Coordinators, Ms S. Sugimoto and Mr M. Kojima). TY is also indebted to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal, Kathmandu for issuing permissions to investigate and collect mirids in Sagarmatha and Langtang National Parks. Mr N. Katsuta and his wife Ms K. Ito (Hachioji, Tokyo) were trekking the Langtang Himal National Park with TY and helped with his fieldwork. RKD is grateful to Prof. T. Hirowatari (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan) for continuous guidance. Thanks are extended to three reviewers for improving the manuscript with valuable comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partly supported by JICA Senior Volunteer International Cooperative programme for Himalayan Biodiversity between NMTU and the first author (2005–2007).